Death to child rapists: Mufti govt okays two ordinances after Kathua horror

J&K Cabinet, which met under Mehbooba Mufti, approved two ordinances to provide stringent punishment, including death penalty for those convicted of rape of minor girls

The Mehbooba Mufti government in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday approved an ordinance providing death penalty to those guilty of raping children, a development that comes in the wake of massive outrage over rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua.

Significantly, the government also shifted the 'burden of proof' on the accused, while bringing provisions to ensure time-bound fast track investigation and trial in such cases, a minister said, according to news agency PTI.

“In cases of rape, where the victim is a child up to the age of 12, we have provided for death penalty to those